Jeff Samardzija Has Wandering Eye For Winner

Jeff Samardzija has already sounded much like a guy who has one foot out the door.

The pitcher's current relationship with the Cubs is on the outs, and it now seems the Cubs ace is flirting with other teams, even before he has officially ended things with the Cubs.

What a tramp.

Who knows if Samardzija really wanted to stay with the Cubs? It seems clear, however, that he's eager to pitch his way out of Chicago, just as former Cub and current Brewer Matt Garza recently advised him to.

Samardzija told reporters Wednesday he's not too concerned about his won/loss record, as he is fully aware potential suitors around the league are taking notice of his terrific start to the season. He apparently isn't worried all these stellar performances are going to waste without being able to put up any W's. His work is hardly lost on his potential suitors, he told Patrick Mooney.

“We’re not wasting anything,” Samardzija said. “With modern technology, every game pretty much gets seen. I don’t think it’s any secret what I’m doing.”

Meaning among baseball’s decision-makers?

“Bingo,” Samardzija said.

I've hinted before that the Yankees don’t have what it takes to land Samardzija. But when the pitcher hits free agency, you can bet there will be mutual interest. Samardzija now leads the league in ERA (1.46 ) and ( forget that I hate the useless stat) still has zero wins to show for it, mostly due to lack of run support and a inopportune, leaky bullpen.

I was told by an AL exec last winter not to underestimate Shark's desire to win, and now. It seems he likes what he saw across the diamond this past series.

"They bring the whole crew when they come,” Samardzija said. “It’s really nice to see how they run things. There’s a certain method to their madness with the guys they pick and the guys they decide to put in pinstripes.

“All their guys are professionals. They come out and they play every day. As you saw today, they’ll play 13 innings. That’s what you need.”

Maybe I am over-analyzing, but I just can't help but notice a hint of disgust coming from Samardzija and directed at the Cubs front office and this stage in their plans.

I spoke with a current teammate of Samardzija's this past weekend who claims the team is completely resigned to saying goodbye to their ace, and soon. I asked if he thought Samardzija was already mentally set on reaching free agency?

"Yeah, he's a different cat, " the player said. "In a good way, but he's different like that."

Comments

He was mentally ready for free agency about 1-1/2 years ago, as shown by that he wouldn't sign an extension. The only question is whether he is helping grease the skids for a trade, probably some time within the next month, instead of pining for free agency in another 1-1/2 years.

I'd feel better about Jeff if he would just keep his mouth shut with the press. Obviously, he doesn't believe that the Cubs are close or on a track to win any time soon, but a little loyalty to an organization that has been pretty good to him would be classy.

I think consideration of "classy" with regard to Cubs and Cubs players is beyond hope at this point. Whether one wants to consider it mercenary or not, current Cub management has made it clear that existing players are tradeable. Remember the reverse stink when Dempster fouled up a trade?